If you have been following my blogs with any regularity, you probably are wondering why I decided to write a blog on this subject rather than one related to my book, What Would Our Founding Fathers Say? Well, I decided to change course and write this blog because of what I see happening in our world of politics today.

As a country, we are getting way off course in what we should be focusing on as a nation. It’s not whether or not we should declare ourselves as a Republican or a Democrat and in so doing, support our chosen political party whenever we think of things political. But rather, we might think of why we are put on this earth in the first place. That may be difficult to do for any of you who profess to be an agnostic or an atheist, but for the sake of making our broken and clearly dysfunctional government work again, please humor me and momentarily embrace the thought that there’s a purpose in each of our existences and that is to follow our individual, providential paths while we’re alive.

Our first president, George Washington, believed the path his life took him was providential and acknowledged that belief to others. Abraham Lincoln was a fatalist, believing he was powerless to change the course his life was taking him. Studying his life in some depth, I believe he listened to his ‘inner self’ many times throughout his life. In both of these examples, Washington and Lincoln steadfastly followed their providential paths while they were alive. That was one of the reasons they were considered one of the two greatest presidents this country has ever had. One of the reasons they received such acclaim was because they were both very reflective, or introspective, and by being so, recognized how they could use their strength of personality to best serve their nation.

Washington put his reflective nature to good use, since he was very much aware that his presidential image was being scrutinized by those he governed and he was very self-conscious of presenting a model leader of the country throughout his presidency. Lincoln used his tendency to be introspective by fulfilling his wish to be remembered for the good deeds he performed as president.

But, in order to do what I just described, they needed to be empathetic and compassionate to fully appreciate what they needed to do to meet the needs of all the people they served.

I’m urging us all to be more reflective in our lives and in so doing, get in touch with the empathetic and compassionate side of our psyches. One of the reasons Washington and Lincoln were so loved by so many people was because of their empathic and compassionate understanding of the people they served.

If there’s ever a time when being empathetic and compassionate toward the family and friends of the victims of the Newtown school shootings, it’s now, when the debate over gun control begins in Congress.

Without employing empathy and compassion in any legislative decision, which would be directed toward those who are deeply saddened over the Newtown school slayings, an adequate decision re: gun control will not be met, resulting in further anger and frustration by the public at large.

There are some issues that can’t be resolved through democratic, hence, political means, where a compromise that will satisfy all sides will result. One of those issues is that of gun control. That’s because Congress displays strong feelings on both sides of the aisle. It is for that reason that traditional democratic means to come to a ‘happy compromise’, where all sides can live with the decision will never be met. That being so, it’s conceivable that in order to resolve the impasse, President Obama will have to sign an executive order to enact stricter gun control laws in spite of the opposition’s wrath over that being done.